Our Vision

Our vision is an ocean that will sustain future generations.

AltaSea is developing a new model for ocean-related science, business and education – a place where innovators collaborate to develop solutions critical to the survival of the earth and its inhabitants.

Through a bold plan conceived in concert with the community and stretching decades into the future, AltaSea is positioned to make an innovative mark on the future of Los Angeles and the planet.

We represent the convergence of business, education and science sectors aligning for rapid solutions, and our vision is based on the following major pillars:

Economic opportunities for future generations must be created

The ocean must be explored

Future generations must be fed

Future generations must have clean energy

Future challenges must be met

Explore AltaSea

Our History

AltaSea

The AltaSea project began with a 2007 grant from a private foundation to conduct a visioning study for the new home of the Southern California Marine Institute (SCMI), which was to be moved from its Terminal Island headquarters. Work on the project formally began in June 2011 and focused on securing a 50-year lease with the City of Los Angeles. The lease was executed in December 2013 and included a $57 million capital investment for site rehabilitation by the Harbor Department. In January 2014, AltaSea convened a group of top Los Angeles business leaders, civic leaders and philanthropists to create a Board of Trustees to oversee the organization, construction project and capital campaign.

AltaSea assumed its status as a stand-alone nonprofit corporation in 2014. In October 2015, AltaSea’s Board of Trustees approved the Gensler-designed campus plan.

City Dock No. 1

The Port of Los Angeles City Dock No. 1, home of the AltaSea campus, was constructed in 1913 and successfully brought the Los Angeles waterfront to the international stage, with people, goods and ideas flowing in and out to the world. AltaSea will build on that legacy. We invite you to join in the excitement and engage with AltaSea, so together we can create a lasting and positive contribution to the future of the ocean and humankind.

Development Timeline

The AltaSea campus will be built in several phases over the next 15 to 20 years. As Phases 1A, 1B and 1C milestones are met and the facility becomes operational, plans for later phases will be unveiled.

DISCLAIMER: AltaSea designs are conceptual and are in the process of obtaining entitlements approvals, permitting and final Port of Los Angeles review and adoption.

1A

Occupancy Timeline: 2016-2018

Restoration of Warehouses 58-60

Warehouses 58-59 will be the interim home for all permitted science, business and education uses. This expansive space will contain modular trailers that will serve as offices for water-dependent and ocean-related businesses; research laboratories for scientists from the Southern California Marine Institute and other agencies; as well as space for education programs.

Wharf Plaza

In preparation for the building of the Education Pavilion, the wharf and subsurface conditions between Warehouses 57 and 58-60 will be renovated to allow for the docking of visiting research vessels.

Education Pavilion

The Education Pavilion, scheduled for completion in 2017, is located between Warehouses 57 and 58. In addition to providing scenic outside amphitheater-style seating where students and lifelong learners will attend lectures, demonstrations and exhibitions, the Pavilion will contain an indoor classroom and a coffee or snack bar.

Warehouse 57 – North Facade Upgrade

During Phase 1A, the existing two-story facade at the north end of Warehouse 57 will be demolished to restore it to its original pre-World War II footprint. Restoration will involve removing the World War II addition along with cosmetic upgrades to the building’s original exterior.

1B

Occupancy Timeline: 2019-2020

Warehouse 57 – Full Restoration

The anchor tenant of the Science Hub will be the Southern California Marine Institute (SCMI), a strategic alliance of 22 major universities, colleges, and foundations that provides marine expertise and hands-on experience to students, monitoring the marine environment and increasing public awareness.

Warehouse 57 is home of the Science Hub at AltaSea. The Science Hub will provide a home for the world’s top scientists to conduct breakthrough ocean-related research and discover solutions to environmental problems. Through intensive collaboration, these great minds will conceptualize, identify and address the most pressing issues facing the ocean today. By emphasizing not just ocean-related research, but also ocean discovery, the Science Hub will contribute to a more sustainable future that benefits both humanity and the planet.

Re-alignment of Leonard Aube Way

Leonard Aube Way, the renamed section of 22nd Street between Harbor Boulevard and Signal Street, which runs along the north side of the AltaSea property, will be re-aligned to provide additional space to build the Engagement Center.

1C

Occupancy Timeline: 2022

The Engagement Center

The Engagement Center will serve as a global beacon for ocean education. Serving as the home of innovative marine science exhibits and education programs, the Center’s features include a 150-seat auditorium with a glass wall cantilevering over the channel, a learning grotto and science laboratories. Programming at the Engagement Center will strengthen STEM and STEAM education and, by its fifth year of operation, is projected to annually provide educational experiences for up to 50,000 children in grades K-12, with a total visitor count expected to surpass 200,000.